Would You Change It, If You Could?
by Lalauria
Summary: Hermione Granger is given the chance to go back in time, and travels back to 1977; the final year at Hogwarts for the Marauders and, of course, Severus Snape. Will she be able to change history? And what consequences will her choices have?
1. The Time-Twister

_Having read quite a few timetravel-fics, I wanted to try writing one myself. I truly hope you like it!_

_Reviews makes me happy as a clam!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing at all! _

-o-

Hermione Granger was sitting alone in the Gryffindor common room with her head in her hands. She was _so _tired. Yes, the Dark Lord was dead. Yes, the war was over. But at what cost? So many lost lives, so many broken families. She wondered if she was ever going to run out of tears.

She had just returned from Severus Snape's funeral. And yesterday she had seen his memories that he had left for Harry. Severus Snape had sacrificed his _whole _life for stupid mistakes in his youth. And then he had died for his cause, without ever experiencing happiness.

"It's not fair!"

The empty room did not answer. At first.

"Would you change it, if you could?"

Hermione spun around to see the portrait of Albus Dumbledore occupying a landscape painting. He was looking at her with an expression she had not seen before. The twinkle in his eye was gone for the moment, and his eyes were locked into hers as he waited for her reply.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"How much would you be willing to sacrifice for a chance to go back and change things?"

Hermione went still for a moment. Albus Dumbledore always had a hidden meaning behind his words. What would she be willing to sacrifice? _Anything, that's what,_ she thought, and took a deep breath. "Everything. Anything. I would do anything in my power."

The old headmaster looked at her for a long moment before speaking. "Do not get your hopes up before I am done explaining. The sacrifice may be too great, and in the end it might not even work."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "There is a way to go back in time, and thus interfere with different events in the timeline. Or nudge things in a different direction."

Dumbledore's twinkle came back. "Or change history completely of course."

Hermione was bursting to ask questions, but Dumbledore held up a hand.

"Let me finish. It is said that making changes in the past is a very dangerous thing, and may have dire consequences. This is not exactly true. The saying exists because if everyone knew, it would be like opening Pandora's Box. Everyone would want to go back and change past mistakes, and it would cause so much disturbance in time that the consequences _would_ be dire in the end."

Dumbledore straightened his back. "Events _can_ be changed. But if something is _supposed_ to happen, it will happen regardless. Fate, if you will."

Hermione could feel adrenaline spreading through her body. This was unbelievable!

The excitement was obviously showing on her face, because Dumbledore shook his head. "Do not get your hopes up just yet. There are limitations. And consequences. One cannot travel farther back than twenty-one years. As far as I know at least."

Dumbledore's expression darkened. "And the travel is one way only. One cannot travel back to one's own time."

Hermione felt the air go out of her. "I see."

Dumbledore nodded. "It is not an easy decision to make, and-"

Hermione interrupted him. "No, that's not it. The decision is an easy one. But leaving everything behind will be less easy."

Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up, but she continued before he could say anything.

"If I may ask, sir, why me? And why has this not been done at an earlier time?"

Dumbledore met her eyes. "It has not been done earlier because I have not had the required item. The Time-Twister came into my possession just recently. I have been searching for years and years."

Dumbledore smiled at her. "And as for why you? Because out of all of us, you are the one person most likely to succeed. And your age is suitable to be a student at Hogwarts."

When Hermione raised an eyebrow, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and he gave her a smile. "Would you like to hear my idea?"

She nodded.

Dumbledore's idea was basically this. Hermione would travel back to 1977, which was the senior year for Professor Snape, James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettingrew. She would travel from the headmaster's office, and hopefully younger Dumbledore would be present when she arrived. She would explain, and get enrolled into Hogwarts as a seventh year student. Hopefully, the horcruxes would be destroyed and the Dark Lord dead before the deaths of James and Lily Potter were to happen.

There was no twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes as he spoke next. "But I have an uncanny feeling that their fate is already sealed, one way or the other. If that is the case, there is nothing you can do, except for be ready for the Dark Lord's return."

Dumbledore's expression was filled with grief as he looked at her. "So many wrongdoings, so many mistakes. If I had only known what I know now.. Of course, you cannot tell younger me everything. No one should know that much about the future without having already lived it. But I think you will get a feel of what is right, and what is wrong to share."

Hermione nodded. "I think so too, sir."

The room went silent for a moment before Dumbledore spoke. "Please do me the honours of calling me Albus. It is long overdue. And I have one request, or a plea more like it. The one person I have failed the most. Severus."

Hermione smiled at Albus. "Yes, I have been thinking about him as well. I will arrive before he joins the Death Eaters if I understand the timeline correctly."

Albus nodded. "Yes, he did not join until after graduation. Although he had met and spoken to the Dark Lord on several occasions before that. The process has already begun. But it is not too late to stop it. By the time you arrive, he is a lonely boy; he lost his friendship with Lily some time ago. And the marauders will not leave him alone. So he is miserable, and very, very lonely. Will you try?"

Hermione looked at Albus. "I had no intention of not doing so."

-o-

Two days. Two days until she was leaving. Merlin, she would miss everyone so much. But she would see everyone again. And perhaps even be reunited with some of the ones they had lost. If she could just save one or two, it would be worth it.

Hermione spent the next day packing. Packing for twenty years was not something you did every day.

In the end she was finished, and everything went down in her enchanted handbag. Next she went to Gringotts, to find that her vault was fuller than it had ever been. Gifts and rewards had started coming in, but she was not aware that it was this much. Suddenly she felt bad. She had not fought in this war to receive prize money. _Although, you are going away for twenty years. It could not have come on a better time._ With that in mind, Hermione withdrew everything from her vault.

Later that evening, Hermione went to see her friends. As she entered and smiled at Ron, she felt relief wash over her. They had broken up the same night they had tried to have sex. It had been the most awkward thing she had ever experienced. Like suddenly realising you are having sex with your brother. Hermione loved him, just not like a lover should. Luckily, Ron had come to the same conclusion as her. She imagined what it would be like if they were still together and she would go back in time. When they met again it would have been litterally no time for him, but twenty years for her. A lot can change in twenty years. _Understatement of the century, _she thought as she settled down with her friends for the last time in twenty years.

The evening was lovely. She could not have asked for a better last evening. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and they spent the night talking and laughing.

Hermione told the rest that she would spend the night at home and said her goodbyes. The thought that they would not even know she was gone helped a lot. They would not miss her. They all had already enough people to miss.

She apparated to Hogwarts and went to the Gryffindor common room, where she found Dumbledore waiting for her.

"Have you said your goodbyes then?"

Hermione nodded, and felt tears brimming in her eyes. "I have. And I have brought everything I need. How will this work?"

Albus folded his hands in his lap. "It is similar to the time-turner. But this will take you back much farther. I have a few things in my office that you will bring with you, and you will tell younger me a few things so that he will believe you. For now, go rest, and we will speak again tomorrow. I will have everything ready for you then. Goodnight, Miss Granger."

-o-

Hermione woke up with a sense of excitement mixed with dread. She went to Albus' office to find the old headmaster waiting for her in his portrait.

"Are you ready, Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded.

One hour later, they had covered everything needed, and Hermione was standing in front of the headmaster's desk with the Time-Twister. It looked similar to the Time-Turner, but was slightly larger, and there were more golden rings circling the hourglass in the middle.

Albus took a deep breath, and looked at her. "One turn with the outer ring for each year, and one turn with the second one for each month. turns with the outer, and nine turns with the next. That will bring you to the end of August, 1977 if my calculations are correct. And I believe I am. Until we meet again, Hermione."

The old headmaster looked so sad that she suddenly felt a surge of compassion for the old wizard. She realised it was not an easy task for him to do all the things he had done. He had been playing with people's lives and fates for years and years. And she had at one point started to resent him for it. She felt quite a lot of the resentment vaporise from the tired and mournful expression of the old headmaster.

Hermione started to turn the ring on the Time-Twister.

-o-

She was a bit dizzy when she finished. Looking up, she saw a much younger-looking Albus Dumbledore standing right in front of her. _How twenty years can change a person,_ she thought. But with the life he had lead, there was no real surprise to it.

Looking at the headmaster, she felt a surge of happiness to see him alive, and she did not think about what she was doing when she threw her arms around him. "Oh, Albus! I am so, _so _happy to see you!"

She almost added _alive _to the sentence, but just managed to stop herself.

"Oh Gods, I am sorry! You do of course not know who I am!"

Albus' had a confused expression, but his eyes twinkled. "And yet you call me by my first name. Most curious. Pray tell, who are you, where did you come from?"

He looked at the object in her hands, and his eyes widened. "I should most likely rephrase that. _When _ did you come from?"

Hermione looked sheepishly at him. "1998."

"I see. Would you like a spot of tea? And perhaps a lemon drop?"

-o-

Hermione was nicely settled with a cup of tea when she started to explain. After about two hours, she felt she was done and leaned forward in her chair and put down her cup of tea. She then looked into Albus' eyes.

"I was told to tell you this, Albus. You need to let go of your grief. It was not you who killed Ariana. It was not you. It was Grindelwald. And even though that will not help you much, let go of your grief."

The room was silent for something that felt like an eternity before Albus looked at her. "Are you certain?"

Hermione nodded. "You will do a lot of searching for the next twenty years, though; I hope you will not do this time. And in the end you find out that you were not the one that directly caused her death. This was what you told me before I left."

They sat in silence for a while before Albus looked at her again. "You are already sorted into a house?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. Gryffindor. And I will need to stay there."

She looked sheepishly away from the Headmaster. "But I was hoping to try the sorting hat again. So much has changed, and I have changed so much from the war. I am curious to see if it has changed its opinion of me."

They heard a voice from the top shelf. "Most certainly, young lady! It would be my honour!"

Albus' eyes twinkled. "Well, there you have it. You shall be sorted again, if nothing else for the curiosity of it."

Hermione felt really nervous when the hat was placed on her head. And was surprised to hear nothing from the hat. At first.

"Hmm. There is courage, so much courage. Intelligence. Such a bright mind. But cunning, yes, a lot of cunning."

The hat went silent again for a moment.

"You are a worthy Gryffindor, young lady. You would excel in any of the houses. But would you like to hear what house I would put you in if I was to choose?"

Hermione just nodded. She had a feeling she knew what was coming.

"Slytherin."

Hermione sighed. "I had a feeling you would say that. Gryffindor is the house of my heart. But after all these years of trying to survive, I have changed a lot. Thank you, Sorting Hat."

-o-

Albus and Hermione talked for quite a while longer, and Hermione realised she had not said much about Professor Snape. She had in general not mentioned many people by names, not wanting to share too much. She could, after all, change her mind later. And there was still time before things escalated. She needed time to sort her thoughts.

One thing she would tell him, though. "Albus. You need to know something. About Prof.. I mean Severus Snape."

She waved her hand dismissible. "I might as well. It is about Professor Snape. He will be Potions Master here by the way. But the thing is, he is a good man. A truly, heartfelt good man. Never doubt that. I hope to change things when it comes to his life. He does not deserve what will happen to him. He will never be happy. _Never._ He will die in the war after giving up his whole life for the cause. And I will not let that happen. Not this time."

Albus nodded. "Very well, Hermione. I will remember. I will remember everything you have told me."

Hermione smiled at the headmaster. "I will tell you more as time passes. But I need to clear my head and sort my thoughts. No one should know too much about the future without having already lived it. You yourself told me this. So I need to know what to tell and what to not tell."

Albus smiled back at her. "I agree. Now, we should decide on how to proceed from here. You will enroll as a seventh year student. In Gryffindor. And we should make a backstory for you. And perhaps a family tree?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. I already have some of it. I come from Salem, Massachusetts, even though I am born in England. I moved to the United States at age 10, which is why I still have my English accent but have not gone to Hogwarts. I went to Salem Witches and Wizard Institute. My parents are dead, and I have almost no remaining family. My parents were from the States, which is why we moved back there. And I think I should change my name. To Hermione Singer. It has a similar sound to my real name, so it will not feel so unfamiliar. And I have done some research on it, and the name comes from a pureblood family in the United States. Not that I mind being muggle-born, but I think it will be easier. And..I feel bad for exploiting this, but there was a Singer-family that died two years ago. A man and a woman with one daughter, and she was around my age. They never found them, though. It was a boating accident."

Hermione took a lemon drop before continuing. "It is not known, but assumed that they were a magical family. And I had real trouble finding this information, so I think it will be almost impossible to find it these days. The ways of finding information is quite improved from 1977. And I never found their names, just the surname."

She looked at Albus. "I tried to find a suitable halfblood family, but it was not easy. So I went with pureblood. What do you think?"

Albus smiled at her. "I think it sounds quite perfect. And I think you are right about the name. It will make you less of a target. What age are you, Hermione?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment. "I am seventeen, eighteen at the nineteenth of September. But I used a Time-Turner quite a lot in my third year. You gave it to me by the way. So I am eighteen if you add that."

Albus looked a bit taken aback. "I gave you a Time-Turner? Whatever for?"

Hermione giggled. "So I could take more classes."

That made Albus chuckle as well. "I see. Well, I would stick to your on-paper age since you will turn eighteen in seventeen days. What do you say?"

Hermione nodded. "That sounds good. I will need legal papers, and I was wondering if you could help me with that? Wait, seventeen days? The school year has already begun?"

Albus nodded. "Yes. It begun yesterday so you are not that late. You have a potions class in twenty minutes, if you would like to go."

When Hermione looked slightly panicked, Albus continued with a twinkle in his eyes. "Take your time, you start whenever you please."

Hermione thought about it. "Actually, I would like to go. I might just as well."

Albus smiled. "Very well. I will go with you to introduce you. Do not fret, my dear. I will help you with whatever it is you need. The papers you need will be done by the end of the day. And I will make a password of your own, so you can enter my office when needed."

Albus looked thoughtful for a moment. "Perhaps you would consider sharing this information with Minerva? It will probably be easier for us all seeing that she is your head of house.

Hermione instantly nodded. "Yes, I think so as well. And I know her quite well, so it would be difficult to treat her as a stranger."

Albus gave an approving nod before standing up. "Let's get you to class then, shall we?"


	2. The Potions Class

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

_Now, on with the story.._

-o-

Hermione nervously followed the Headmaster into the potions classroom. Professor Slughorn had just begun the lesson, but turned to them as they entered.

With a beaming smile, Albus gestured for Hermione to enter the room. "I apologize for the intrusion, Horace, but you have a new student. This is Hermione Singer, and she has just transferred here."

The Headmaster looked at Hermione. "Will you be alright, my dear?"

Hermione nodded nervously. "Yes, Headmaster."

Slughorn smiled happily at Hermione. "Ah, a new student! Where did you transfer from, my dear?"

"Salem Witches and Wizard Institute, professor"

Professor Slughorn looked excited. "Ah, it is a nice school. Would you like to take a seat, and I will talk to you later about what you have learned. I do not know the curriculum there, but I hope you will be able to follow the class."

Hermione felt a bit nervous as she turned to the class to find a seat.

There. At the front row closest to the door, sitting alone, she saw Severus Snape. A much younger Severus Snape. She almost wanted to run over and cry a bit on his shoulder, but figured that would be unwelcome. Not to mention awkward. But at least she knew where she was sitting.

He looked quite surprised as she stopped by his desk and smiled at him. "Hi. May I sit here?"

Now he actually looked utterly confused. "Uhm..what? Are you sure? I mean yes, yes you can sit here."

Hermione felt like laughing. He had a long way to go before being the Professor Snape she knew. She was saddened by the fact that he was so confused that someone wanted to sit with him, though. She turned to him with a beaming smile and whispered. "I am Hermione Singer. Nice to meet you."

The confused expression did not go away as he answered. "I'm Severus Snape. Uh, nice to meet you too."

Then she felt it. A slight prodding at her mind. He was using leglimency on her. She raised an eyebrow at him and slammed up her occlumency walls. Harry and herself had been training quite a lot when they were hunting for horcruxes, and she was by now a decent occlumence. And legilimens. "That's quite rude you know."

Severus Snape looked wide eyed at her, and his voice came out in a stutter when he spoke. "I, uh..I..how did you..uh..sorry."

Hermione giggled. "You are forgiven. But you do not need to use legilimency you know. Just ask instead."

Severus just blinked at her.

-o-

Turned out that Professor Slughorn's seventh year curriculum was easier than Professor Snape's sixth year. Perhaps even fifth year. At the moment they were about to brew Elixir to Induce Euphoria, which Hermione had already made in her sixth year. As she begun to prepare her ingredients, she realised this was one of the potions in the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making that was heavily altered. And the Half-Blood Prince was sitting right next to her.

After watching Harry the whole year with that book, she had finally relented and read it. And in the end she had to agree to the fact that Severus' ways of doing things gave much better results. By now she knew all his methods by heart.

She glimpsed at the dark haired boy next to her just as he sighed and rolled his eyes at the book in front of him. Hermione felt like laughing again. She leaned closer to him and whispered. "I know. It's completely out-dated. Who _cuts_ a sopophorous bean anyway?"

His expression was one of utter surprise as he turned to look at her. "How do you do it?"

"I crush it with a silver blade."

Hermione did not think Severus' eyebrows could go any higher, but it seemed she was wrong. "So do I. Where did you learn that? Is that how they did it at your old school?"

Hermione considered for a moment how to respond. She had done some research, and they did things pretty much the same way at the Salem Institute. And even though she had invented some new methods after being inspired my Professor Snape, she did not feel like taking credit for something she had _not_ invented. She took a deep breath. "No, but I have learned quite a lot from a very skilled and inspiring Potions Master. So I like trying to find new and more effective methods."

She could see the excitement in Severus' eyes. "So do I."

The conversation floated easily after that, and she was surprised to find Severus Snape as an engaging, interesting and funny conversation partner. They discussed potions and methods of preparing ingredients quite vigorously, and after a while they started chatting about other things as well. Suddenly Severus' expression darkened. "What house are you in? Or perhaps you haven't been sorted yet?"

Hermione realised she did not have her school robes on. "Gryffindor. Why do you ask?"

She could almost see the light go out in his eyes. _Shit, he probably thinks I will reconsider being his friend. Or maybe he will hate me,_ she thought as she remembered the feud between him and the marauders.

He looked away for a moment before looking back at her. "Well, I guess you will not be sitting here in the next potions class then."

Hermione decided playing confused was her best option. "Why would you say that?"

"Because Gryffindors and Slytherins do not mix."

Hermione felt the light fade in her eyes as well. "You do not want me as your friend?"

His expression was slightly panicked when he turned to look at her. "No, no, that's not it at all. But _you_ will not want _me _as a friend. Gryffindors hate me."

Hermione felt a mix of sadness and annoyance. "I can make up my own mind, thank you very much. You can let me know when _you _do not wish to be _my _friend anymore, but until then I will consider you as a friend."

Severus eyes flashed with hope for a second before they turned dark again. "We'll see. You will probably change your mind."

Before she could answer, he got up and quickly gathered his things. After delivering his potion to Slughorn, he was out the door before she had time to follow. Sighing, she gathered her things as well.

"Hi, new girl!"

The voice was so familiar. Hermione turned around to see a younger Sirius Black standing in front of her. She smiled "Hello. I'm Hermione Singer. And you are?"

She took his hand and shook it when he held it out for her. "Sirius Black. Nice too meet you."

More familiar faces approached her, and after a bit she had shook hands with Remus Lupin, James Potter, Lily Evans and Peter Pettingrew.

She felt like hexing the last one.

They were walking towards the dorm when Sirius looked at her. "You should sit with us next potions class. Snape is a bad sort. I would stay away from him if I was you."

Hermione felt like hexing him. "Why? What has he done?"

"Lily used to be friends with him, but it ended when he called her a mudblood."

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. Of course she already knew this, but she knew _why_ as well. "Why did he do that?"

Sirius looked like he did not think this through. "We were joking around with him, and Lily defended him. So he called her a mudblood."

"And why did she need to defend him if it was so innocent?"

Sirius looked sheepishly at her. "Well, we might have gone a bit too far. But that is no excuse for calling her such a thing."

Hermione looked at him. "True. But if that is all you have on him I would not consider him a completely bad sort just yet. There is no excuse for calling someone a mudblood, but it does not make him evil. Just someone who made a huge mistake. Did he apologize?"

"Well, yes. But he is way too fond of the Dark Arts as well. He is going to be a Death Eater when we graduate. I guarantee it."

Hermione met Sirius' eyes. "And you know this for a fact?"

Sirius looked away at this. "No, not exactly. But you just need to believe me when I say he is a bad sort."

Hermione sighed but gave Sirius a smile. "I will make up my own decision about that. Thank you for your concern, but I am very much capable of taking care of myself."

-o-

Later that evening Hermione went to the library. She had excused herself, saying that she had a lot to catch up on, and a lot to figure out from the curriculums here at Hogwarts.

As she sat down in the empty library, she thought about her day, mostly spent with marauders. She liked them. They were funny and kind, as long as you were in the correct house that is. Or more like as long as you were a non-slytherin. Remus was as she remembered him, kind and compassionate. Lily was nice, but quite shallow, even though Hermione could sense how intelligent the girl was. James was a stereotypical popular boy, and Peter.. Well, she just did _not_ like him.

She had seen Severus several times throughout the day, and every time she had tried to smile at him. But the light that she had seen in his eyes earlier that day was extinguished.

The library was blissfully silent, and Hermione sighed with relief before getting out her things.

She was so submerged in her books that she did not notice the person entering the library. Not until he was standing right in front of her, and all her reflexes kicked in.

Before she knew it, she was standing with her wand out and had thrown a silent shield charm. She was just about to throw a stunning spell when she realised what she was doing, and who was standing in front of her.

"Severus! Oh Gods, don't scare me like that!"

His eyes was wide with shock. "You didn't hear me coming? I did not mean to startle you!"

Hermione slumped down in her chair. "I'm sorry, I totally forget my surroundings when I study. And I am a bit jumpy."

Severus raised an eyebrow. The famous Professor Snape eyebrow. "A _bit _jumpy?"

He sat down at the table with her. When she met his eyes, his expression was grave. "What happened to you to make you react like that?"

_Fuck, _Hermione thought, and was actually shocked at her own crude language in her mind. Then she realised someone was probing at her mind again, and slammed up her occlumency walls with brutal force. He had probably managed to catch her reaction, though. And nothing more she hoped.

"_Do not do that! _Do I _really need _to keep up my shields at all times when I'm with you? It's incredibly rude to use legilimency on people without consent you know!"

Severus looked a bit broken. "I'm sorry. I really am. I did not think."

She looked furiously at him. "Do _not _do that again. Next time I will _hex _you!"

He looked so devastated that Hermione felt her anger evaporate. "It's alright. This time. And as of what happened to me, it is a long story. Perhaps I will tell you at a later time. When I know you better. Unless you managed to find out?"

Severus actually smiled, and Hermione could see some light in his eyes again. "No, I did not. All I caught was you swearing in your mind, and then being shocked over your own language. Quite amusing in my opinion."

Hermione had to laugh. "I do not swear much, as you might understand. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

When the light in his eyes faded a bit, she hastily continued. "No, no. I did not mean that I do not want you here. Not at all. I was just asking what your purpose in the library was."

The light turned back on, and Hermione felt a surge of sadness. He was so ready to believe that people did not want him. He picked up his bag. "I was planning to study. What are you doing?"

He raised an eyebrow and gave her a teasing smile. "I like the quills by the way."

Hermione looked confused at him before realising her hair was full of quills. She had a tendency to do this when studying, arranging quills in her hair to keep it away from her face. And pretty much every time a lock of hair fell in her face, she put up a new quill. Until everything fell apart and she had to start over. She looked sheepishly at Severus before starting to remove quills. Seven. Had to be a new record.

"My hair gets in the way. One time I got up early to study, and forgot about the quills. I went to class like this. Not embarrassing at all, really."

Severus laughed, and Hermione felt her heart skip a beat. Severus Snape was laughing. At something she said. He was actually laughing. And it was a nice laugh.

She looked at the dark haired boy, or perhaps man, in front of her, and found that she rather liked his appearance. Yes, his nose was rather large, but it had character, and suited him quite well. Over all, Severus Snape was actually handsome. _Merlin's beard, did I just think of Severus Snape as handsome? I did, didn't I. This is quite surreal._

Next she looked at his hair. _Oh my, it is not greasy at all. It is just smooth, and that makes it shiny, which again makes it look greasy._

"Are you ever going to answer me?"

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts.

"Uhm, yes of course. I just..never mind. I am studying of course. And reading curriculums. Not to be a know-it-all, but is this everything we are going to learn this year?"

Severus looked at the papers she handed him. After scanning through most of it, he looked at her. "Yes, pretty much. Why? Not challenging enough for you?"

Hermione giggled. "Yes, pretty much. I know most of this already. And since I actually _like_ to learn, it's a bit disappointing."

Severus smiled. "I kind of agree. With the disappointing part. And I whole-heartedly agree with the like to learn part."

He handed the papers back to her and she sighed. "Well, at least I can study on my own time. And since the lessons will for the most part be easy, I will have quite a lot of own-time."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Merlin's beard, I do sound like a know-it-all. A stuck up know-it-all even."

When she met Severus' eyes, he looked nervous, and she looked slightly confused at him. "What is it?"

Severus Snape actually fidgeted for a moment, and that made her even more confused. He stopped fidgeting and looked at her. "Maybe..I mean, you don't have to. But.."

He stopped, and it looked like he was gathering courage. His next words came out in a rush. "Maybe we can study together? On more advanced stuff I mean. It's totally fine if you don't want to I understand."

When Hermione took a moment to answer because she had to process what he just said, she saw the light slowly fading from his eyes. Again. She decided that her new task was to keep that light _on. _She also felt growing excitement from the thought of researching and studying new things with Severus Snape, knowing that he already had done quite a lot at this age. He was brilliant.

Her face broke out in a beaming smile. "I would love to! Are you by any chance good with charms? I have a ton of charms that I am working on."

Severus expression was so filled with relief that her heart broke just a tad. But the light in his eyes was back. With vengeance. And the beaming smile he gave her made her heart skip at least one beat. "I am working on charms as well. I have created some already. And I like potions, as you already know."

Hermione grinned at him. "Perfect! When do we start? And where do we meet?"

For some reason that frickin light in his eyes faded slightly again, and her devotion to the keep-on-the-light task grew. Before she could ask what was on his mind, he spoke. "I don't know. The marauders are out to get me wherever I go. It's not easy to get any peace when they are around."

Hermione thought about it for a second before giving him a beaming smile again. "I know exactly where we will do this. How about we start tomorrow? After supper?"

Severus looked quizzically at her. "After supper sounds just fine. But where do you have in mind?"

Hermione thought about what to say for a moment. She was supposed to not have a clue about Hogwarts. But they needed this.

"First, you have to promise me something. And I mean _promise._ Whenever I do or say something that you do not understand, you need to accept that I will not always tell you why. And this will happen, I assure you. You may ask, but if I say that I do not wish to tell you, you need to let the subject go. And you will **_not_** use legilimency on me without my consent. _Ever._ If you truly wish to be my friend, you need to respect this."

Hermione paused for a moment and sighed. "I understand that this may not make much sense. But hopefully it will, in time. Because I will tell you, in time, if we become friends."

The friggin light in his eyes faded.

"Severus, I already consider you as a friend, but I met you _today._ I am not ready to tell you about my extremely complicated life. And I would rather say that I will tell you later than lie. Can you respect that I will tell you when I am ready to do so? And I know that this makes _no_ sense whatsoever, but you will understand quite quickly if you spend time with me. Or so I think."

Light was back on.

"You are quite the mystery, Hermione. But alright, I will do my best to respect that. And I swear to not use legilimency. You still haven't told me where we should meet, though."

Hermione smiled at him. "It will be better if I show you. Meet me in the left corridor at the seventh floor tomorrow after supper? It is getting late and I think I will go to bed. It has been a long day."

The light was still on when she left him.


	3. The Room

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

_This chapter is a short one, because it was originally the ending of chapter 2. But I will make it up to you by posting the next chapter very soon! _

_I am positively thrilled by the response I have gotten so far! Every review, favourite, and follow to my story makes me grin like an idiot! Thank you all! Thank you, thank you, thank you!_

_Hope you enjoy my story so far!_

-o-

The next day went by _way_ too slowly in Hermione's opinion. At supper she was distracted, looking for Severus. When she saw him entering the Great Hall from the corner of her eye, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly finished her meal, and smiled at the marauders as she gathered her things and got up. "I am going to study. See you guys later?"

Sirius rolled his eyes at her. "Study? Again? When do you have fun?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as well. "When I am finished studying." She grinned at him. "You should probably as well, if you do not wish to be beaten in _everything_ by a girl."

Sirius looked at her with a mock-wounded expression and put his hand to his heart. "You wound me, my lady! You break my fragile heart!" His expression turned playful. "I'll bet you anything that I would beat you in a duel, though."

Hermione cocked her head and placed her hand on her hip. "Yeah? Anything?"

Sirius grinned. "Are you accepting my challenge?"

Hermione placed her other hand on her other hip. "Perhaps. What are we betting on?"

Sirius cocked his head at her. "If I win, you will join us and actually have fun. For two weeks. And I will decide when you study. I you win.. Well, what do you want?"

"If I win, you will study _every day._ For two weeks. And you will hand in your homework and essays to me and I will decide if they are good enough or not."

Hermione could see Severus leaving the Great Hall from the corner of her eye and decided it was time to leave. "Tomorrow. Before dinner. Deal?"

Sirius grinned. "You're on."

Hermione grinned back. "Great. And now I am leaving. To _study."_

With that, she got up and left the Great Hall.

She caught up with Severus at the third floor as he was waiting for a staircase. He didn't look at her as he spoke. "If you'd rather be with your _friends, _ I understand. Perhaps it's for the better."

Hermione felt anger rise in her. She waved her wand and cast a silence charm of her own invention. It created a sound-proof bubble around them, and she could tell him exactly what was on her mind without anyone hearing her. She grabbed his arm and turned him to look at her. "Do you mean that? Do you _want_ me to go? Because then I will. Like I have already told you, if you do not wish to have me as a friend, I will respect that. But until then I am not going _anywhere!"_

His face was stony when he looked at her, so she sighed. "So make a decision. Do you really want me to go? That would make me extremely sad by the way. Or do you want to go to the seventh floor and let me show you one of Hogwarts' best kept secrets?"

He looked at her with a longing expression. "I do want you as a friend. I'm sorry. I'm just not used to anyone actually _wanting_ to be my friend. So I am having a hard time believing it."

"Well believe it. Now let's head for seventh floor, shall we?" Hermione waved her hand to cancel the silence charm, and Severus looked around just as the bubble flashed silver for just a second before disappearing. "Did you invent that? I felt you cast a silence charm, but I have not seen a bubble shaped one before. And you can do silent and wandless spells?"

Hermione smiled. "Yes. I had..well, let's just say I had a lot of time to experiment and practice magic last year. I'll show you everything, if you wish."

-o-

They reached the seventh floor, and Hermione stopped in front of the tapestry located in front of the Room of Requirement. She turned to Severus with a smile. "What kind of room do we need? A sort of library perhaps?"

Severus just looked confused. "Well, I guess so."

Hermione concentrated on a room filled with books, and somewhere to study. Then she walked three times in front of the tapestry, and the door appeared. "Let's go inside." When Severus just looked dumbfounded, she opened the door and pulled him inside. "Before anyone sees us, come on."

The room was better than Hermione could have ever wished for. It had bookshelves upon bookshelves, and a huge table in the middle. At one side there was a fireplace and two comfortable chairs, a sofa, and another rather large table. On the table Hermione could see a newspaper, and she frowned as she walked over to look at it. She picked it up and just managed to stop herself from gasping as she read the date. May third, 1998. It was the Daily Prophet from the day after the fall of The Dark Lord. The room _knew._

She knew she had to stop Severus from seeing this, and was about to fold the paper when it vanished. Hermione let out the breath she had been holding, and turned to Severus. He was standing where she had left him, just looking around the room.

She walked over to him. "This is the Room of Requirement, or the Come and Go Room. It is one of Hogwarts best kept secrets. The room changes to whatever the user wants. Walk three times in front of the tapestry outside while thinking about what you want the room to be, and the door will appear. Amazing, wouldn't you agree?"

It seemed Severus realised someone was talking to him, because he turned to look at her. "Utterly amazing. How did you know?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Don't ask."

Severus rolled his eyes, but gave her a smile. "Very well. I promised, did I not?"

Hermione smiled back at him. "You did I'm afraid. Now, let's get to work?"

-o-

Time positively flew by in Severus' company and it was almost curfew when they finally got up to leave the Room of Requirement. Hermione stopped in front of the door. "I would love to know if there was someone outside. I do not wish to-"

Before she could finish the sentence, a window appeared on the wall, and Hermione had to laugh. "Thank you very much, kind room!"

There was no one outside, so they quickly left the room. Smiling happily, Hermione waved at Severus. "See you tomorrow!"

He gave her an almost excited smile in return. "See you tomorrow. Goodnight, Hermione."


	4. The Duel

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
><em>

_Happy Holidays to you all! _

-o-

The next day Hermione spent ignoring Sirius' attempts to taunt her. She had a strong feeling she would be able to defeat him. Or so she hoped. When the time arrived for their epic duel, Hermione had probably rolled her eyes at him at least fifty times.

They were outside of the school, at a place away from prying eyes. Hermione had told Severus, though, and she hoped he was watching from somewhere.

Sirius turned to her with a grin. "I hope you are ready for two weeks of fun, Hermione!"

Hermione did another eye-roll. "I will give you one chance to withdraw, Sirius. And I would suggest you take the chance while you have it. I _will_ defeat you. And I am not saying this because I believe myself to be so amazing, it is just that I have quite a lot of practice with combat magic."

Sirius just laughed. "No way. I will make you eat your words!"

Rolling her eyes _again, _Hermione sighed. "Are you always this full of yourself? Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Sirius did not know proper duel-etiquette it seemed, because he threw a stunning charm at her the next second. Which she easily blocked with a silent, wandless shield charm. He looked taken aback, and she used the moment to actually draw her wand.

Raising an eyebrow, she pointed her wand at him. "That was pretty rude if you ask me."

Sirius threw another hex, and Hermione dodged it while flicking her wand at him, turning his hair pink. He blocked her next spell, which would have turned his robe into a dress with a colourful flower pattern, but at least she managed to turn his shoes purple.

About five minutes later, Hermione was facing a furious Sirius Black with long blond hair, wearing a beautiful red silk dress. The dress had changed shape and colour several times, as well as his hair. But he had not managed to get a single spell to hit Hermione. The rest of the marauders were breathless from laughing, and she figured Sirius was about to explode pretty soon.

His face was red with anger when he spoke. Or more like shouted. "Stop playing games!"

She blocked another hex as she considered how far she should take this. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes! Show me what you are made of instead of this foolishness!"

Hermione shrugged at him. "Very well. You asked for it. I would advise you to put up a shield charm right away."

Sirius looked confused for a moment, and then shocked when she started casting non-verbal spells. She summoned a flock of birds to attack him, just to give him a moment to actually put up his shield. When he did, she cast a stunning spell with as much force as she could muster. She was rather pleased to see that the shield shattered.

No matter how much Sirius tried he could not hit her. Or break her shield. Hermione decided to end the duel, and she dispelled all the magic on him, turning him back to normal, before silently casting expelliarmus. His wand flew and she summoned it before it landed. She caught it with ease, and looked at Sirius. "Are we done?" No one said anything, so Hermione levitated the wand back to Sirius. "Dinner has started, and I have a lot of studying to do afterwards. I will see you guys later."

She turned to leave, but she had barely taken a step when she heard Sirius yell.

"Sectumsempra!"

She threw up her shield before the hex could hit her, and spun around, furious beyond belief. She quickly disarmed him and summoned his wand.

Hermione was almost unable to breathe from anger, but after a few seconds she exploded with fury. "**Really? Really, Sirius Black? Is this how you treat your friends? Is this how you treat** **_anyone?_** **You** **_coward!_** **You deserve this!"**

She gave a harsh flick with her wand, and the reaction was instant. Sirius' face almost turned green, and after a few seconds he vomited a slug. Hermione turned to the rest of the marauders. "Any of you feel like that was unfair?"

They all shook their heads. Lily met Hermione's eyes. "He deserved much worse in my opinion." She looked at Sirius. "No offense, Sirius, but what Hermione said was true. That was cowardly. I would have done much worse than make you vomit slugs for a little while."

Hermione looked around. "Have any of you tried the spell before? Or know what it does?"

Everyone shook their heads except Sirius, whom was very busy with the slugs.

Hermione sighed and flicked her wand at Sirius so he would stop vomiting slugs. After Ron had his slug-accident, she had found a charm to counter the spell.

She went over to Sirius and crouched in front of him to meet his eyes. He was on his knees on the ground from the vomiting. She cast her bubble of silence, and turned looked at him. "I cast a silent charm so they are unable to hear us. Just wanted to mention that first. I did not agree to this duel to embarrass you. And I am sorry for doing so. But if I had declined, what would that result in? You tormenting me constantly on how much of a coward I was since I did not dare to duel you? You know that is the truth." She sighed. "Perhaps I should have gone easier on the whole changing your clothes-thing, but I hate casting harmful spells. I hope you will forgive me for making you feel embarrassed."

She paused for a second before continuing with a grave expression. "I _do_ expect an apology from you. Even _you_ have to admit that I deserve one. I hope from the depths of my soul that you are not fully aware what that spell does. And if you _are_ aware.." Hermione trailed off. "I do not even want to finish that sentence. I do not even _know how_ to finish that sentence."

Hermione almost got up to leave, but decided to say one last thing. "Oh, and by the way. If you _ever_ try something like that again, vomiting slugs will be the least of your concerns. And I will never speak to you again. To be honest, you do not deserve my apology, or even me speaking to you right now."

Hermione got up and dismissed the silence-bubble before concentrating. A few seconds later, she closed her eyes and waved her wand, conjuring a training dummy. She then waved her wand again to conjure a skeleton of sorts, and fill the dummy with red liquid to mimic blood. When she stepped back to look at it she was quite pleased, and turned to the silent marauders. "This dummy mimics a human. It has, quite fake of course, blood, skin, and bones. The reason for this is because you need to see what the spell does. I hope to Merlin that Sirius did not know. **_Sectumsempra!_**_"_

The poor dummy was violently slashed, and the dummy's clothes were nothing but rags. Blood was pouring from several huge wounds all over the dummy's chest. Hermione crossed her arms and turned to the marauders. Lily was standing with her hand over her mouth, and her eyes were wide. All their expressions were ones of utter shock. She then turned to Sirius.

His expression told her everything she needed to know. He had absolutely _no_ idea what the spell did. His face had turned pale as snow, and his expression was one of utter disbelief. Then he started shivering. Or more like shaking. His eyes turned to Hermione, and his voice was barely a whisper when he spoke. "Oh my God..Oh my God..Hermione..I..Oh, Merlin."

She held his gaze. "Indeed. I am glad to see that you did not in fact know what the spell did." She shook her head and vanished the dummy. "I will talk to you guys later. No offense, but I really do not wish to talk to anyone right now."

As she approached the castle, she realised Severus had probably watched the whole thing. And _he _was the one that invented sectumsempra. And _she _had no way of knowing of this spell, if the marauders had not told her. _Shit, _she thought as she entered the castle and saw the man she was thinking about almost running towards her. _Shit, shit, shit!_

Severus reached her, but before he could say anything, Hermione held up her hand and shook her head. "Not here. Too many ears. Seventh floor."

Not a word was spoken as they moved towards the seventh floor. Hermione kept her occlumency walls up constantly as her mind was spinning. She had no idea of how to explain this.

As they reached the Room of Requirement, she still had no idea. Her thoughts were chaotic when she passed the room three times, and she had no idea what room she just created.

It seemed the room had made its own decision on what she needed as they entered. There was a fireplace, two comfortable chairs with a small table between them, and to her surprise, tea and sandwiches. "I did not know you could conjure food. You are not supposed to be able to conjure food."

The room did not respond, and she turned to Severus to find him standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. He did not look happy. "Look, I know what this must look like." She thought about it for a moment. "Actually, I have no idea what this must look like."

Before she could continue, Severus interrupted her. "It looks like you are just like the rest of them. A lying, deceiving bitch. I should learn to never trust anyone. I don't know why I bother."

He turned to leave, and Hermione felt her heart break. "Severus, don't go, please. At least let me try to explain. _One_ chance, that's all I ask."

He stopped, but did not turn to look at her. "Very well. Explain."

Hermione sighed and went to sit down in one of the chairs. "You better come and sit down. It is quite a long story."

Severus hesitated for a moment, but finally came to sit down. Hermione considered what to say. "Severus. Please look at me." He finally did, and she leaned forward. "I don't really know where to begin-"

She felt something touch her mind, and was glad she had decided to keep her occlumency walls up. The touch hardened. He was actually trying to break down her walls. She threw him out of her mind with force.

She expected to be furious, but instead she just felt her heart break a bit more. Even she could hear the sorrow in her voice when she spoke. "Can't you at least _ask_ first? Not that I would give my consent, but that is because I have issues with any spells regarding mind or thought. Not because I am trying to lie to you." Severus did his best statue-impression, and she gave up waiting for an answer. "Severus, you _need _to listen to me. And you need to believe me when I say that I _cannot _tell you everything. At this point. It is not safe. I know that sounds melodramatic, but it is the truth. I swear on my life." Hermione leaned back in her chair before continuing. "I am not from this time. I am from the future."

Severus abruptly got up and headed for the door.

"Severus! I swear to God I will stun you if you do not come back."

He stopped and turned to her. "The future? Really? That is the best you got?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, and put two images from her mind outside of her occlumency walls. "Use legilimency on me."

He did. And promptly came back and sat down in the chair. She had shown him one image of London from her time, and one image of the teacher's table at Hogwarts. One where Severus himself was not there. But the rest of the teachers looked older, obviously, and Severus looked somewhat convinced for now.

Hermione told him what she could. What she felt was safe, at this point. He listened, but Hermione knew it would take time before he would truly believe her. She just hoped he _would _eventually believe her.

"So, that's about it. Like I said, I am from the future. I have been a student at Hogwarts for six years." She looked at Severus. "Please consider the reasons for _why_ I did not tell you this. I know you. From the future. You are my professor."

Severus just looked at her, and she was almost waiting for him to get up and leave again. To her surprise, he did not. "You know me? I am your _professor?"_

Hermione nodded. "Remember the skilled and inspiring Potions Master I mentioned? That was you. You hate me, though."

Severus looked at her. "I hate you? Then why are you trying to befriend me?"

"Because you are brilliant. And I never really got to know you, seeing how you are my professor." Hermione hesitated for a moment. "Severus, I know you must have a thousand questions. But I cannot answer all of them. Not at this point. It is too dangerous. I know who you are dealing with, and what you plan to do after you graduate. And therefore I cannot tell you. The Dark Lord is at this point a better Legilimens than you are an Occlumens. And he must not find this information."

Severus' eyes widened. "You know?" Looking away from her, he sighed. "Of course you know." He turned back to her, and she could her the hesitation in his voice when he spoke. "And you still want to be my friend?"

"Yes, Severus. I know that you are already having second thoughts, but it is hard to back out when dealing with Tom. Is his name taboo at this point by the way?"

Severus actually laughed. "_Tom? _Tell me you did not just refer to the Dark Lord as _Tom."_

Hermione grinned. "I did. I'm not taking any chances if his name is taboo. And I do not feel like referring to him as a _Lord."_

Severus shook his head before looking at her. "I think I understand why you cannot tell me everything. But what _can _you tell me then?"

Hermione considered this for a moment. "At this point? Not much I'm afraid. At least not about Tom. Or your future. What I can tell you however, is some of the reason why I am here. I hope to make changes in the timeline. There is too much darkness ahead, and perhaps I can change that. To a certain degree. The whole idea that everything will crash and burn if you change things in the past is not really true. You _can _change things, if you want. But if things are meant to happen, they will happen anyway. Fate will just find another way."

Hermione leaned forward with an almost pleading look. "I hope you will forgive me for not telling you that I already know you. But I couldn't. Even now it is too early, but seeing how you busted me in using one of your spells, I had to do _something_. And remember that I do not really _know_ you where I come from either. Everything I know about you or your life, I have heard from others."

Hermione looked down. "The thing is, I am stuck here. I will never be able to return to my own time. Time travel is a one-way ticket thing. I knew this when I left, but hopefully it will be worth it." She looked at Severus. "And seeing that I am stuck here, I need to actually build a life. And make friends. So I hope you will be one of them."

Severus met her eyes. "This is completely insane. And very hard to believe."

Hermione gazed at him. "I know your patronus is a doe."

Severus actually recoiled, and she was once again expecting him to get up and leave. But after a moment, he seemed to calm down, and when he looked at her, the famous light was back in his eyes. Even if just barely. "For now, I choose to believe you."

Hermione was not aware of how tense her body had been this whole time. When every muscle suddenly relaxed, she could feel her whole body start to shiver. And she felt her eyes brim with tears.

Severus looked startled. "What's wrong?"

Hermione took a deep breath to keep the tears at bay, and try to stop the shivering. "I just was not prepared for how relieved I would be to hear that. Emotion-overload it seems. I am fine, though. Truly."

Severus looked somewhat calmer, but kept an eye on her. Suddenly he sat up, and she was surprised to see he was grinning. "I will never forget the sight of Sirius Black in a red dress. And that hair? Oh, Merlin."

Hermione felt a bubble of laughter emerge from somewhere inside her, and she could not stop the laughter that escaped her. "It was quite good, wasn't it?"

After the laughter finally faded, Severus expression turned grave. "Why did you cast sectumsempra on the dummy? Quite impressive that dummy, by the way."

Hermione copied his grave expression. "He tried to hex me as I turned to walk away. With sectumsempra."

Before she could continue, Severus' face turned furious. "That bastard! I'm going to kill him!"

Hermione waved her hand dismissible. "No you will not. First of all, Sirius did not know what the spell did. Which is so irresponsible that I cannot even begin to describe it. And second, you will not kill him, because you have no idea how he looked at me after I cast the spell on the dummy. I have every intention of forgiving him, because I suspect he will punish himself harder than I would."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "How very Slytherin of you."

Hermione smiled. "Perhaps. The thing is, though, Sirius is not a bad person. He just hates the Dark Arts to such a degree that everything connected to it is a source of hate for him. And on top of that he lacks impulse control, and is a bit full of himself. But at some point, he will figure things out. He is quite different in the future. Anyway, please don't mention any of this to any of them. I intend to stay friends with them."

When Severus' expression darkened, Hermione sighed. "I know how you feel about them, Severus. And I cannot say I blame you. But I cannot start alienating people my second day here."

Rolling his eyes, Severus gave her a defeated look. "As long as I do not have to like them, I guess I can tolerate that."

-o-

It was way past curfew when she entered the Gryffindor common room. She had disillusioned herself all the way here, and let out a breath of relief when the portrait closed behind her. At first she thought the dark room was empty, but then someone leaped out of a chair. Hermione went for her wand in an instant.

"No, no. It's just me." Hermione waved her wand to turn the lights on. Sirius was standing in front of her. "I have been looking for you all day, where have you been?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "I do not believe that is any of your concern."

Sirius sighed. "It was more rhetorical than anything." He came over and stopped in front of her. "I know that no apology will ever be good enough, but I am _so incredibly sorry."_

Hermione considered what to do. "I am quite certain that you have considered what could have been the consequences if I had not been as quick with my shield as I was?"

Sirius put his head in his hands. "A thousand times. I have been thinking of nothing else all day. I will never cast another spell that I do not know the effects of again."

Hermione nodded. "Then I forgive you."

Sirius looked completely dumbfounded. "What? I mean..really? Just like that?"

"Just like that. Although you have some trust-building to do. I don't think you can blame me for feeling that way. But I can see that you are truly sorry. So I forgive you."

The relief on Sirius' face was so apparent that she almost felt like hugging him. She did not need to, though, because in the next second she was caught in a tight embrace. "I am so sorry. Honestly. You are way too forgiving, Hermione. Not that I am complaining. Thank you."

Disentangling herself from him, she smiled. "No problem, Sirius. But, it's late and I could really some sleep. See you tomorrow, yeah?"

They said goodnight and Hermione sighed happily when she finally lay down under the covers in her bed. The day had drained her both mentally _and _physically, and it did not take long before she was sound asleep.

-o-

_Author's note: In my opinion, Sirius Black is a good and decent man, but impulsive and reckless, as well. And even more so in his youth, I imagine.  
><em>

_Perhaps it was a bit too early to tell Severus about everything, but it sort of just happened :P And if Hermione had waited too long, Severus would probably not be very happy about it, either. So, yeah. _

_Who would you like to be the next to know, if you could choose? :D_

_I adore reviews, honestly! :D Happy holidays!_


	5. The Birthday

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! _

_Thank you all, for your reviews, favourites and follows. It makes my day!_

_Let's have a fluffy chapter before going back to the more serious matters at hand, shall we? _

-o-

The next two weeks went by in a flash, and Hermione was starting to enjoy her new life. She stopped by Albus a few times each week, and was even getting to know Minerva. Or rather Minerva was getting to know Hermione.

She missed her friends dearly. But the thought of seeing them again helped. Even if it was a long wait. A very long wait.

Telling Severus who she really was had been a relief. But at the same time, she was afraid that she had made a huge mistake by doing it. At this point, Severus' loyalty was conflicted and he was confused. Hermione just prayed that her decision of telling him wouldn't end up backfiring on her. She hoped her decision would give him a chance to choose a different path this time.

Or, perhaps his path was already decided. Hermione did not know.

If nothing else, he seemed to believe her, mostly at least, and she was relieved to not have to hide who she was from him. They spent a lot of time together, often in the Room of Requirement, and she loved it. Severus Snape was nothing like she had pictured. He was thoughtful and sweet, almost a bit shy, at least when she complimented him. Something she did quite a lot. Because the man was brilliant. Just brilliant. They were working together on several projects, and the way he approached things, his ideas, suggestions, and solutions amazed her.

He was also reserved, and had quite the temper at times. And where Hermione was ever the optimist, he tended to see things from a more negative point of view. As for the darker side of him; well, it was still there. And he did not trust her fully. Not that she blamed him.

So she just hoped she would be able to gain his trust, and change the dark future he had in front of him. But, quite frankly, she had no idea how to change the future. Or, more specifically; how to change the future for the better. So she was taking one day at the time, and hoping for the best.

Sirius was back to being his old self again, mostly. But she found him looking at her at times, with an unreadable expression, and she did not know what to make of it.

Hermione was surprised to find that she had, in fact, forgiven Sirius. Although, she doubted she would have forgiven him so easily if she had not known him from the future. And knowing what the future had in store for him right at this point..well, it was not good, now was it? Hermione did not feel like spending her energy on holding a grudge against him. There were more important matters at hand right now. If he were to do something so reckless again, however, she would not be so forgiving about it.

-o-

She was on her way to the seventh floor to meet Severus, and found him standing there when she arrived. He smiled at her.

"May I create the room today?"

Hermione gave him a bemused look. "Well, of course you may. Go ahead."

She gasped when she entered the room. The ceiling was enchanted like the Great Hall, a starry night and floating candles. She looked around to see the usual bookshelves, tables and the fireplace, but today the table in front of the fireplace was set for two, with plates and napkins, decorations and butter beer, and in the middle of the table was a huge cake with pink frosting. Hermione felt utterly confused.

"It's the nineteenth. I was not sure if you perhaps did not want to celebrate your birthday since you haven't mentioned it, but I decided to take a chance. I kept the books, though."

Hermione could not speak as she realised he had taken inspiration from things she had told him. The ceiling of the Great Hall. The butter beer. The huge cake with pink frosting her parents never let her have because it was bad for your teeth.

No one said anything for a small eternity, but when Hermione heard the disappointment in Severus voice, she snapped out of it.

"You hate it. I'm sorry; I should not have done this without asking first. We can just go outside and change the room."

Hermione spun around with her hands clutched to her chest, trying to find her voice. Looking at the devastated expression of Severus did the trick. With tears in her eyes, she leaped forward and threw her arms around him so hard that he stumbled backwards. "Don't you dare, Severus Snape, don't you _dare_ leave this room. I _love_ it. It is _perfect."_

At first it was like hugging a statue. But after some hesitation, Hermione could feel Severus' arms carefully embrace her. Which made her squeeze him even tighter.

After a long moment, Hermione released Severus from her death-grip and beamed at him. She decided to ignore the fact that he looked shell-shocked, and clapped her hands. "Cake! There will be cake! With pink frosting!"

She proceeded to almost skip over to the table to sit down, looking expectantly at the man she probably just traumatized slightly by hugging him.

Severus blinked for a bit before meeting her eyes. When he saw her overly excited expression, his face broke out in a smile.

The cake was delicious. The butter beer was delicious. The napkins had unicorns on them. Everything was perfect.

She had just cut another piece of cake when she realised Severus' expression had turned nervous. And he was fidgeting. She put the piece of cake on her plate and looked at him. "What's on your mind?"

He fidgeted some more. "Well, I kind of brought you a present."

Hermione froze. "You did? Really? But this is already enough, you did not have to do that." The famous light faded slightly and she quickly recovered. "But I am happy you did. I am a fool for presents."

Light was back on in an instant, and Severus smiled nervously at her as he reached in his bag and pulled out something. As he handed it to Hermione, she could see that his hand was shaking. She quickly decided that no matter what he gave her, she would be utterly enthusiastic over it.

She looked at the present in her hands. It was actually beautiful. And very sweet. The wrapper was gold and red, and the ribbon was green and silver. Gryffindor and Slytherin. Hermione was pretty sure her heart was melting at this point. Or perhaps her brain was melting, because she felt a sudden urge to cry. She looked at him and realised he was fidgeting more than ever. "Do you want me to open it?" She smiled. "I'm going to open it."

She did not wait for a reply and started to unwrap the present. It was a quill, and a small notebook. She quickly realised that the quill was one of the enchanted ones that never run out of ink. They were expensive and she gasped.

"It is fine if you don't like it, really."

She really felt like rolling her eyes at him, but decided not to. "Severus! You shouldn't have! And of course I like it! I love it! But I am not sure I deserve such a gift."

He actually rolled his eyes at her. "I have seen you trying to balance the ink on your knee when you are sitting in a chair. And even though I have to admit you are quite skilled at it, I thought this was a better solution." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "The book is enchanted as well. I did not buy that one, though. I already had it in my possession."

Hermione put the quill on the table and picked up the notebook. It looked quite normal, but holding it in her hand, she could feel magic from it. She looked at Severus. "What kind of enchantment?"

He was nervous again, and he did not meet her eyes when he spoke. "It is a shared notebook. And-"

Hermione gasped. She knew what a shared notebook was. It was basically two magically linked notebooks. So if you wrote in one, the text would appear in the other one as well, making it able to communicate through the books, no matter how far the distance. And the ink would be invisible to anyone but the owner. So where the owner would see a book filled with words, everyone else would see completely blank pages. And the book would never run out of space. Every time you filled one page, a new page would appear at the end. Without the book getting thicker. It was extremely advanced magic. So the books were _rare._ It was almost impossible to get a pair of these books. And she was holding one.

"I take it you know what a shared notebook is then?"

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. "I cannot possibly accept this, Severus. It's..I..I do not know what to say."

Severus reached into his bag again and pulled out another notebook. But he avoided her eyes. "I have one as well, as you might understand. I thought perhaps we could communicate more easily with these. If you want."

Hermione realised he was more or less expecting her to just say no to the whole idea. And then perhaps laugh at him. She promptly got up from her chair and walked around the table. "You need to get up; I am going to traumatize you by hugging you again. Deal with it."

He shook his head with a smile, but got up, and she embraced him. More careful this time. He did not take as long to hug her back this time either. _Progress,_ she thought as she let him go. She did hold on to his hand, though.

He nervously looked at her, and she gave him a soft smile. "This is the most amazing gift I have ever received in my life. Thank you, Severus. Thank you for everything. This is the best birthday I have ever had." He obviously had no idea to respond, so she smiled at him and let go of his hand. She went to sit down and held up the notebook. "So, does it need to be activated, or something like that?"

Severus sat down as well, and nodded. "Yes. You open the book, and place your hand inside the cover, and I will do the same."

Nothing happened when Hermione placed her hand on the book. But when Severus did the same, the book started glowing before fading out.

She was still looking in her book when she saw text appear.

**_Happy birthday, Hermione._**

She grinned at him and picked up her new quill.

**_Thank you very much, Severus._**

It was indeed the best birthday ever.


End file.
